My Twisbi Vac 700 R and some line weight tests

The other day I asked the question whether my Twisbi pen was the one. Could I only take one fountain pen out urban sketching and achieve the line variation I need to create depth and focus in my sketches?

This is the first in my series of posts putting Iris the Twisbi through her paces.

Line Variation Experiment

I did four simple tests to see how many different line variations I could make with my Twisbi. I adjusted the pressure I used and the part of the nib I used.

1. Writing Pressure

My natural sketching style when I’m not speed sketching is akin to my writing style: holding my pen close to the nib quite tightly. When I use the Twisbi using this writing pressure, the lines are consistently smooth. Even though I’m using the F nib, the line is still quite pronounced.

2a. Lighter Pressure

I do a lot of people sketching, and as this is usually a rushed endeavour my natural sketching style changes slightly, and I end using a lighter pressure. This is because the pen is moving across the paper a lot quicker, which creates a much finer line that’s less pronounced. Another way to create this lighter pressure with a fountain pen is to:

• hold it at the nib, but loosen your grip
• hold it further away from the nib
• hold it at the other end with an overhand grip, with your index finger pointing down the barrel to steady the pen

2b. Using the Back of the Nib

I turned the pen over to sketch with the back of the nib to see if I could create an even finer line, but the back of pen lines looks almost exactly the same as the lighter pressure line.

3. Using the Side of the Nib

My last test was to use the side of the nib, and although this created a line with the same line weight as both the examples in the second test, but parts of the line were lighter and in some places I lost the line. So the side of the nib does create a line with more line variation.

Next Steps

I’m so used to holding my fountain pen as if I was writing with it. So if I want to only use one pen when I’m urban sketching and still get the variety of line weights and variation I’m aiming for, I’m going to have play around with holding my pen differently and use different parts of the nib.

It’s going to take some practice sessions of ink only sketches to see how adept I can be at coaxing a variety of line looks out of Iris. I need to get to a stage where I still feel comfortable with sketching at different speeds and in different environments.

At the moment I don’t have to think too much about the ink sketching process. I just open my sketchbook, pop the cap off my fountain pen and start sketching. But I do want more line variety, and that’s only going to come by focusing on that aspect of the sketching process.

Ink Sketching Inspiration from Martin Lachmair

If I need to look for inspiration, I don’t have to look any further than urban sketcher Martin Lachmair. He’s an avid user of Twisbi pens, and does a lot of ink and tonal sketches.

In this Instagram post he is sketching simple coffee cups, but he actually uses two different Twisbi pens for his line weight variety, but I’m wondering if the same sketch can be done with just one pen?